1915 to 1918 English cricket seasons
Encyclopedia
The 1915 to 1918 English cricket seasons were all but wiped out by the First World War. This article looks at how cricket coped with the war.
The 1914 English cricket season
ended prematurely after the outbreak of the war and it was not until the 1919 season
that normal first-class fixtures could resume.
But cricket did not fade away during the war. It was played in schools and universities. It was played on the streets and it was played by the soldiers and airmen on active service. And Wisden Cricketers Almanack continued to publish every spring.
See also: Cricket in the Great War
was not officially abandoned until January. Surrey CCC, despite The Oval
having been commandeered by the military, issued a statement that spring which "hoped that some matches may be played in July and August". It was a forlorn hope
.
.
, at home on sick leave, had an idea to stage services charity matches at Lord's
. These would involve Dominions teams against English servicemen. Colin Blythe
played in one shortly before he was killed.
The number of games increased as cricket began to be viewed as a morale booster. Birley records that "as many as 119 services and schools games were played at Canterbury in 1917".
A Yorkshire County XII played two-day matches against teams representing the Bradford League and the Yorkshire Council league.
When the 1918 Wisden was published, it honoured the School Bowlers of the Year - Harry Calder
, John Firth, Clement Gibson
, Gerard Rotherham
and Greville Stevens
.
The 1919 Wisden honoured Five Public School Cricketers of the Year - Percy Adams
, Percy Chapman
, Adrian Gore
, Lionel Hedges
and Norman Partridge
. Chapman went on to captain England.
The 1914 English cricket season
1914 English cricket season
The 1914 English cricket season was called off at the end of August because of the outbreak of the First World War. The last four matches to be played all finished on 2 September and the remaining five scheduled fixtures were cancelled....
ended prematurely after the outbreak of the war and it was not until the 1919 season
1919 English cricket season
The 1919 English cricket season was the first to stage first-class cricket since 1914. Yorkshire won the title but in their team as in everyone else's, the sense was of overwhelming loss. The county matches in this season were played over a course of two days...
that normal first-class fixtures could resume.
But cricket did not fade away during the war. It was played in schools and universities. It was played on the streets and it was played by the soldiers and airmen on active service. And Wisden Cricketers Almanack continued to publish every spring.
See also: Cricket in the Great War
Cricket in the Great War
The onset of World War I in 1914 brought an end to the "Golden Age" of English cricket. Surrey called off their last two matches without forfeiting their position at the top of the County Championship, which they thus won for the first time since 1899, and the County Championship was then...
1915
The 1915 County ChampionshipCounty Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
was not officially abandoned until January. Surrey CCC, despite The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
having been commandeered by the military, issued a statement that spring which "hoped that some matches may be played in July and August". It was a forlorn hope
Forlorn hope
A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the leading part in a military operation, such as an assault on a defended position, where the risk of casualties is high....
.
1916
Club cricket in the south of England went into serious decline and many clubs closed down indefinitely. In the north, efforts were made to keep the leagues alive and the Bradford League did very well indeed, with large crowds reported, especially after the Saltaire club signed the great bowler Sydney BarnesSydney Barnes
Sydney Francis Barnes was an English professional cricketer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the sport's history...
.
1917
Plum WarnerPlum Warner
Sir Pelham Francis Warner MBE , affectionately and better known as Plum Warner, or even "the Grand Old Man" of English cricket was a Test cricketer....
, at home on sick leave, had an idea to stage services charity matches at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
. These would involve Dominions teams against English servicemen. Colin Blythe
Colin Blythe
Colin Blythe , also known as Charlie Blythe, was a Kent and England left arm spinner who is regarded as one of the finest bowlers of the period between 1900 and 1914 - sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age" of cricket.-Career:Blythe first played...
played in one shortly before he was killed.
The number of games increased as cricket began to be viewed as a morale booster. Birley records that "as many as 119 services and schools games were played at Canterbury in 1917".
A Yorkshire County XII played two-day matches against teams representing the Bradford League and the Yorkshire Council league.
When the 1918 Wisden was published, it honoured the School Bowlers of the Year - Harry Calder
Harry Calder
Harry Lawton Calder, born 24 January 1901, in South Africa and died at Cape Town on 15 September 1995, was perhaps the most unlikely cricketer ever to be named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year, one of the game's top honours....
, John Firth, Clement Gibson
Clement Gibson
Clement Herbert Gibson, born in Argentina on August 23, 1900 and died in Buenos Aires, December 31, 1976, twice won fleeting fame as a cricketer....
, Gerard Rotherham
Gerard Rotherham
Gerard Alexander Rotherham, born at Coventry on 28 May 1899 and died at Bakewell, Derbyshire on 31 January 1985, was a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University and Warwickshire in England and for Wellington in New Zealand....
and Greville Stevens
Greville Stevens
Greville Thomas Scott Stevens was an English cricketer who played for Middlesex, Oxford University and England. He captained England in one Test match, which was lost to South Africa in 1927/8, when he stood in for Rony Stanyforth. Stevens was Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1918.-External...
.
1918
The charity and holiday games continued in 1918. This was a second successive hot summer and games were again well attended, especially league games with professionals in action.The 1919 Wisden honoured Five Public School Cricketers of the Year - Percy Adams
Percy Adams
Percy Webster Adams was an English cricketer.-Biography:He was born at St Pancras, London and died at Pimlico, London...
, Percy Chapman
Percy Chapman
Arthur Percy Frank Chapman was an English cricketer who captained England to a then English-record-equalling seven consecutive Test match wins, a record that was not surpassed until Michael Vaughan's team won eight in a row in 2004...
, Adrian Gore
Adrian Gore (cricketer)
Brigadier Adrian Clements Gore DSO won fame as a schoolboy cricketer for Eton College and was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1919....
, Lionel Hedges
Lionel Hedges
Lionel Paget Hedges, born 13 July 1900 and died 12 January 1933, was a cricketer whose feats as a schoolboy at Tonbridge School led him to be named, in 1919, as one of the Cricketers of the Year by Wisden...
and Norman Partridge
Norman Partridge (cricketer)
Norman Ernest Partridge, born at Great Barr, Birmingham, on 10 August 1900 and died at Aberystwyth on 10 March 1982, was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University and Warwickshire...
. Chapman went on to captain England.
External sources
- CricketArchive – 1915 season in England
- CricketArchive – 1916 season in England
- CricketArchive – 1917 season in England
- CricketArchive – 1918 season in England
Annual reviews
- Wisden Cricketers Almanack – 1916 to 1919 editions